Automobile Barcelona is back at Fira Montjuïc with reluctance about the electric car flying above its attendees, who are divided between those who still haven’t dared to make the change and those who want to, but want it very much. considered expensive. From Saturday 13 May to Sunday 21 May, the show is full, especially on weekends, with potential customers who want to see in person the cars they have searched for so many times on the internet, although fewer and fewer are on display. model and takes up less space. But there are also the curious who just want to walk around and see its more than 100 exhibitors, from those who are going to spend the day like Dolors, who say “it’s a retirement plan”, to groups of children Those who still can’ don’t buy a car, but they go to see what the market is like, even if they have to skip classes.
Pere is among those who do not know what is better, whether to buy a petrol car and be able to drive it until 2035, or go for an electric one, although he is concerned about its low autonomy, especially in his In case, with one daughter who lives abroad which compels him to undertake long journeys to meet her. “Doubts,” he insists after walking around the halls organized by the Fira de Barcelona with some thirty participating brands this year, 40% more than in 2021, the first post-coronavirus edition. Then there’s Sarah and her husband, with their son in a stroller, who love everything electric but still find it too expensive and think they’ll have to wait a few years to buy it. “And it’s getting more and more expensive,” warn Montese and Louis, who also point out that parking lots too big for hybrid cars haven’t grown at the same rate. In this sense, according to a survey carried out at the show, 61.5% of the attendees put their purchase budget between 20,000 and 40,000 euros, which is less than what local manufacturers can offer.
Andres has something clear, having already decided the model he wants from Kia, a microhybrid. He saw it and wanted to see it in person. He wanted to do the same with the Seat Aerona, but the Martorell car company does not advertise on the show to serve attendees, they are only given the option of leaving their address so they can contact them later, so Andres has chosen the manufacturer Korean. “I will complete the decision in 24 hours,” he assured, not wanting to miss the discounts offered at Automobile Barcelona, which could be up to 8,000 euros.
If you must leave the gasoline car behind, the option that most convinced auto show attendees are non-plug-in hybrids. “It’s not exorbitantly expensive,” say Maria and Juanjo, a couple from Mallorca visiting the city and arriving from the airport, who decided to stop at the Fira Montjuïc when they saw all the cars on the Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina is captured. In fact, according to the survey above, half of potential buyers are looking for an electrified car, with 34.9% preferring a hybrid or plug-in hybrid car and 17% preferring a fully electric car. Thus, only 20.9% want to continue with petrol. Automobiles 36% of all attendees visiting Barcelona come with the intention of purchasing a vehicle.
Although electric models have been at the center of Automobile Barcelona for many editions, there are some who are not quite convinced, such as Pedro, Guillermo and Luis, a group of friends who have been coming to the show for more than 30 years . “We’re nostalgic for classic cars,” he admits, not too enthusiastic about electric cars. Of course, they see well that the room Motoh adds this year! Barcelona, a coincidence that hadn’t happened since 1999: “It’s a great idea.” There are also people who notice that many brands are missing and, moreover, they are not able to find the models they are looking for, even when they are the best sellers of the brand. “They haven’t,” Montesse and Louis maintain, noting how the supply crisis affects the show.
All questions, and some complaints, as attendees lined up at stands such as Tesla, one of the most popular this year, enlivened the atmosphere with the sound of its fair horn from time to time. One of its sales representatives had already sold five of the cars by mid-morning on Thursday, noting that interested buyers who are a little too confident about a model can make the 20-minute trip to Lewis Company Stadium. If so, come back and buy it.
There are also people who approach Tesla because they doubt whether there are enough charging points, for which they were shown a map with all the available infrastructure and reassured more than one. According to a survey conducted during the Motor Show, around 60% of visitors believe that the development of a network of charging points has a significant weight in the purchase decision. That restlessness is also heard in Wallbox. They also come there to find out if one of their chargers can be installed at home or in a community parking lot. There are even those who are already thinking of making it work with solar panels.
Ebro is another stop where people will also ask where they can load the pick-up with which they are going to recover this historic Spanish brand on the land occupied by Nissan in the Free Zone. In addition, a thousand and one anecdotes have been heard in his ads, some assistants excited to see that he had resurfaced, someone recalling how he used to drive his uncle’s van in the countryside as a young man. or someone else who knows that he or she still uses the brand seven trucks in your company, making sure they’re the best out there.
And, for the mementos, among those who have entered the SEAT exhibition for its 70th anniversary, with a small selection of its historic cars, 600 in all are being photographed. Among them, a former employee of the company who was reviewing every detail of the models: “I know them all first hand.” He was accompanied by an aide who mourned the way the brand has represented so many.
